Electric switch



Patented Feb. 16, 1926;.

UNiTAEo STATES- PATENT ePrice.

GEORGE HEGEMAN HART, OF WEST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

Applicationled March 8, 1923. Serial No. 623,630.

To alle/17mm it 'ma/y concern Be it known that I, GEORGE H. HART, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of West Hartford, county of Hartford,

State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in an Electric Switch, o-f which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to electric circuit making and breaking devices, and, more particularly, to snap switches.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved construction and arrangement of parts by which. isproduced an efcient, durable, inexpensive and compact electrical switch.

Another object is to provide an efficient and compact switch which is adapted to open and close a uumber of circuits at very nearly the same time without destructive arcing.

.f The invention, accordingly, consists in the 'features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended c1aims.

In the drawings which illustrate a practical embodiment of my invention and in which similar reference characters refer to similar. parts, A

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the switch, portionsl being broken away to more clearly show the arrangement of contacts;

Fig. 2 is a view, partly in section, showing the manner of cooperation of the switch con.

tacts; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective of one of the switch contacts showing the lug provided asa mountin therefor.

Referring tothe drawing, and more particularly to Fig. 1, the switch comprises a base 1 ofporcelain or other suitable insulating material, upon which is mounted the switch mechanism including stationary con-` tacts 2, a rotary contact -or blade 3, and a third or supplemental contact 4. Such a switch as is here illustrated is more particularly adapted for use in apparatus as, for instance, an electric stove wherein there is provided a heating element such as is indicated diagrammatically at 5 and a pilot light -6 which is employed for the purpose of indicatin f that the current is turned on. The switch 1s operated through a control handle 7 which may have a plurality of positions and may, if desired, be adapted to turn in either direction, causing the movable blade, such as 3, to snap into and out ofengagement with the stationary contacts, such as the one indicated at 2. It is usual to provide the heating unit or units, such as that shown at 5, in such manner a's to obtain different heats. In ythe present embodiment, two 0f the terminals 8 are shown connected to opposite ends of the heating unit l5, and the third terminal is connected to the midpoint thereof. In order to Vary the heat given olf by this unit, the switch is adapted to connect the two sections of the heating unit in multiple, series, or singly when the high, low, or medium temperatures, respectively, are desired. There may also be provided a fuse, such as is shown in the plug fuse 9, associated with one of the current bus bars 10. The lamp 6 is, in the present embodiment, shown adapted to be connected in parallel with the current source whenever the switch is in a circ-uit making position, and its circuit, which includes the binding post 11 and the switch Contact 4, is completed whenever the switch is in one of its on positions.

The switch contact 4 is mounted by means of a lsuitable screw or rivet 12 upon a lug 13 which is rigidly mounted on the base 1 by a screw 14 extending from the bottom ofthe base through thel lug. A suitable threaded aperture 15 is also provided to accommodate the binding post 11. The contact 4 is so disposed as to extend between the pair of stationary spring arms of which .each of the stationary contact members 2.

is composed. Between the contact 4 and the spring arms there is inserted suitable insulating material which may be inthe form of sheets-16 to prevent any arcing between the contact 4 and the contacts 2. For the same purpose, the spring contact 4 isvpositioned somewhat from the contact faces of the spring arms. The movable blade 3 is adapted to pass between the pair'of station,- ary spring arms and to be engaged thereby on its opposite sides. When in such position, it contacts at its extreme end edge with the contact 4, thus', at 'the same time,

completing the circuit of thev heating eleinent 5 and the lamp 6.7

Heretofore, in switches of this type which employed an auxiliary lamp contact for the When the switch is comparatively small, the

width of the blade is such that in passing from one stationary contact to the other an arc may be produced 'between the two successive stationary contacts .and the blade which eventuallyl burns and destroys the switch. It is noted that the auxiliary spring contact 4 in the present embodiment is so positioned with respect to the center about which the movable blade 3 rotates that its contacting face lies within the angular limits included between the side edges of the' stationary contacts 2. In this construction, it is not necessary that the blade 3 be of unusual width in order to contact with both the lamp contact and the main contact simultaneously, and the difficulty above mentioned is thereby avoided while at the same time thecompactness of the .-.switch is retained. v

Thus, by the above' described construction, are accomplished, among others, the objects herenbefore referred to.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall l be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. .It is also to i be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to coverb all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements' of thefscope of 40 the invention wh-ich, as a matter of 1anguage, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim' as my invention:

, 1. In an electrical switch, a contact member having a pair ofiopposed contact faces.

-engaged on its side faces between said arms,

and a spring contact disposed between said pair of stationary arms and insulated therefrom and arranged tocontact with the end of said Vmovable contact when the latter is engaged by said arms.

GEORGE HEGEMAN HART. 

